All the reasons 2018 was a breakout year for DNA data

Gene information on millions of people is revolutionizing how we predict disease, catch criminals, and find new drugs.

by Antonio Regalado

Genetic IQ tests. DNA detective work. Virtual drug trials. These were some of the surprising new uses of DNA information that emerged over the last 12 months as genetic studies became larger than ever before. Think back to 2003. We had just decoded the first human genome, and scientists still spent their time searching for very specific gene errors that cause quite serious inherited problems, like muscular dystrophy.